A User Guide In Bandages And Bandages

The use of bandages and bandages is a procedure to wrap an injured part of the body in order to immobilize or protect it. There are many materials for this purpose, such as gauze, canvas, etc. The injury can be muscular, such as contracture, or a bleeding wound.

People have been using bandages for thousands of years. Some people believe that Hippocrates, a physician from ancient Greece and the father of modern medicine, was the first person to apply a bandage to treat a venous ulcer.

Others, however, claim that older civilizations, such as the Egyptians, already used them for various medical treatments. Nowadays, most of us use them to treat our injuries and bruises.

In today’s article we tell you everything you need to know about dressings and bandages.

What is the purpose of dressings and bandages?

As you know, there are different types of bandages and several uses for them. People often use them to protect wounds, prevent infection or to stop bleeding. However, we can also use them to restrict the movement of a limb or joint or by a sprain. In the same way, they help to place splints and support a part of the body.

Bandages can be useful for venous circulation. In fact, this is especially helpful for people with benign edema. They also help hold bandages and medications in place and can also stop bleeding.

Also read: 6 Tips for Preventing and Treating Ankle Injuries

The function of the bandages

In general, we can say that bandages have three main purposes:

• Retention: These are used for certain treatments that require a bandage or medication to be held in place.
• Compression: These are useful for squeezing a limb (when the purpose is, for example, to stop bleeding).
• Corrective: These immobilize a limb so that it can be repaired, as is the case with a dislocation.

What types of bandages are there?

Bandages come in all possible forms depending on their purpose:

• Circular bandages are used to hold a bandage on one arm or leg. To do this, the doctor wraps them around an entire limb.

• Then there is the spiral bandage. These help hold splints in place to immobilize a hand, arm or leg. In this case, medical professionals use elastic bandages placed in a spiral shape.
• The spica bandage is very similar to the spiral bandage. Here, doctors apply the following strips of material on top of each other on the body and the first part of a limb or hand and a finger. Thus, they overlap slightly.
• There is also the bandage of the eighties. Doctors usually place them on the joints. To do this, a doctor applies a bandage of alternately two parts, usually two segments of a limb above and below the joint. They do it in such a way that the turns form an octagon. There is a special type of octopus bandage used to treat collarbone fracture. Here, the number eight forms on a patient’s back and keeps the back straight by pulling the shoulders back.

• As the last, there is the periodic bandage. This is for bandaging the head or an amputated limb. You lay it by covering an entire area from front to back with a bandage. Then they go around in circles to place it horizontally.

Also read: 5 simple and effective tips to overcome a knee injury

Do bandages and bandages pose any health risk?

Like any other treatment or technique, bandages can also result in complications. This is especially true when people use them without knowing what they are doing and do not follow the proper procedures and indications.

Eg. compartment syndrome can occur if you tighten a bandage too much. This happens when oxygenated blood cannot reach all parts due to compression. Thus, the parts that remain isolated become cold and bluish.

There may also be bedsores or open sores due to the use of excessively stiff bandages. Similarly, it is common for the skin to be macerated when the bandage covers a moist area.

Conclusion

Bandages are a very useful technique for treating all kinds of injuries, from simple wounds to bone fractures. However, doctors only recommend them when they are performed by a professional who knows the procedure and who can follow the instructions correctly.